Biography:God (Internet personality)

From HandWiki
@TheGoodLordAbove
A cropped image of the The Creation of Adam by artist Michaelangelo, which shows a personification of God as a man reaching out to Adam. This version of the painting shows the face of God as a cartoon character with a white beard, in a parody of the original.
A cropped portion of @TheGoodLordAbove's Facebook cover image, showing the face of God on The Creation of Adam replaced by a cartoon illustration
Other names
  • God (display name and character name)
  • TheGoodGodAbove (twitter handle)
Years active2011–present
Known forIronic humor and Political satire
Website

@TheGoodLordAbove (also known as @thegoodgodabove, The God Show, and other variations on social media platforms) is a pseudonymous internet personality which was created on Facebook in 2011. The account, character, and author is commonly referred to simply as God, after the account's display name. The account has been praised by journalists for its satirical style and political humor, and had over 3 million followers on Facebook as of 2017. As of 2019, the character coordinates posts and often reposts content on sites like Twitter, YouTube, Reddit and Instagram.

The creator of the account operates anonymously, and all of the accounts posts are made in-character by a fictitious parody of God. God's profile picture across various platforms is based on traditional Abrahamic representations of God as a bearded and white-robed man, and many of God's posts make reference to Abrahamic religion including figures like Jesus.

Overview

The character is known for its signature style of satire which is a blend of irreverent religious and political commentary provided in-character. The account's fictitious owner is ostensibly the all-knowing creator of the universe, who frequently expresses his displeasure with humanity. The account frequently makes posts that make fun of established religions and politicians, and answers questions from its followers addressed to "God".[1] Screenshots from God's Facebook page and other accounts are frequently published in news articles and posted to other social media sites like Reddit.[2] The account has received negative comments from Evangelicals and conservatives.[3]

History

The idea behind the character was originally pitched to the 2009 Playboy Animation contest, as an animated series titled "Good Lord".[4] The idea did not win the contest, and @TheGoodLordAbove was later launched as a Facebook page in September 2011.[5][1] In a 2014 interview the author behind "God" stated that he "started out by wanting to make people laugh", and that the purpose of the account was to "steer people towards critical thinking".[6]

Early on, the Facebook account began receiving an influx of users with suicidal urges and others who were looking for support. The author began providing them with the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline and other suicide prevention resources. He also reached out to the account's followers to provide emotional support to various users who were going through difficult life experiences.[6] In 2014, a "Verify God" petition to have God's account verified by Facebook received over 35,000 signatures.[7]

In January, 2017 God was banned from using Facebook for 30 days after making a controversial post that criticized military spending in the US and the condition of education and medical care in the US.[8] After receiving backlash from users, Facebook lifted the ban the following day.[9] God was unverified by Facebook on February 1, 2017, and the account's author attributed it to backlash over an earlier post he had made raising attention to the fact that the Quebec City mosque shooter was a white Trump supporter, and not a Muslim as had been claimed by some Facebook users.[10] God's followers reacted by requesting for the account to be verified again, and Facebook responded to the controversy by stating that God violated the website's page name standards.[11][12]

Activism

A billboard paid for by "God", encouraging US politician Michele Bachmann to not run in the 2018 US Senatorial elections.

In February 2017, God paid for a billboard in Saint Paul, Minnesota, urging Michele Bachmann not to run in the 2018 US Senate elections.[13] The billboard was put up in response to an episode of the Jim Bakker Show, in which Bachmann stated that she was questioning whether God wanted her to run for the Senate seat.[14]

God has frequently criticized US President Donald Trump, especially for his policies and controversial views on religion, immigration, healthcare, economics, and climate change.[15][16] In March, 2019, God hired a billboard truck to drive around Washington, D.C. with a message that included the hashtag #NotGodsPresident.[17] God has also criticized Trump's attacks of Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg on Twitter.[18]

God Loves Gays

God is a vocal supporter of the LGBT community, and has frequently criticized the Westboro Baptist Church's homophobic rhetoric. On August 9, 2014, God launched the "GOD LOVES GAYS Billboard Project" on Indiegogo with a goal of $50,000 to fund pro-LGBT billboard campaign based around the message "God Loves Gays". The campaign was first introduced to Topeka, Kansas where the Westboro Baptist Church is headquartered.[19] As of September 8, 2014 the campaign had exceeded its goals by grossing over $80,000 in donations, the excess proceeds were used purchase bus ads, and to make donations to an LGBT suicide prevention organization and the National Alliance to End Homelessness. God later expanded this campaign to include other US cities like Salt Lake City and Orem, Utah, and Dearborn Heights, Michigan.[20]

Other media

A spin-off animated podcast titled The God Show is produced by God, and deals with similar themes of current events, politics, and religion.[21][22]

Reception and cultural impact

TheGoodLordAbove was an inspiration behind the CBS show God Friended Me.[23]

See also

  • Twitterature

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "My Interview With God" (in en). 2014-01-29. https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/ariane-sherine/my-interview-with-god_b_4679820.html. 
  2. ↑ Silverman, Matt. "Holy Satire: God's Irreverent Facebook Strategy" (in en). https://mashable.com/2013/03/18/facebook-god/. 
  3. ↑ mikehampton (2019-10-31). "God's new Commandments - you'd better behave!" (in en-ZA). https://themikehampton.com/god-new-commandments-humans-behave/. 
  4. ↑ (in en) Good Lord: The Smiting, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDXGdw9K1Cc, retrieved 2019-12-31 
  5. ↑ "Playboy Announces Winner of 2009 Animation Contest, Calls for Entries for Round 2" (in en). https://www.awn.com/news/playboy-announces-winner-2009-animation-contest-calls-entries-round-2. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Secular VIP of the Week: God on Facebook | Richard Dawkins Foundation". https://www.richarddawkins.net/2014/01/secular-vip-of-the-week-god-on-facebook/. 
  7. ↑ "Facebook Unverified The God Facebook Page And No One Knows What Life Is Anymore" (in en). https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/craigsilverman/if-fb-unverified-the-god-facebook-page-are-we-all-dead. 
  8. ↑ "God Banned By Facebook For Wanting Healthcare and Education" (in en). 2017-01-06. https://www.good.is/articles/facebook-bans-god. 
  9. ↑ January 10, Christine Organ; 2017 (2017-01-10). "God Is Banned From Facebook, And Swiftly Reinstated" (in en-US). https://www.scarymommy.com/god-facebook-account-banned-from-posting/. 
  10. ↑ "God Loses Facebook Verification And Immediately Blames Trump | News" (in en). https://www.comedycentral.co.uk/news/god-loses-facebook-verification-and-immediately-blames-trump. 
  11. ↑ Lekach, Sasha. "God loses verification on Facebook, blames Trump" (in en). https://mashable.com/2017/02/01/god-facebook-unverified-trump/. 
  12. ↑ "Welchen Status hat Gott bei Facebook?" (in de). https://www.deutschlandfunknova.de/beitrag/welchen-status-hat-gott. 
  13. ↑ Gilmer, Marcus. "Billboard gives Michele Bachmann that sign from 'God' she's been waiting for" (in en). https://mashable.com/2018/02/02/michele-bachmann-billboard-god/. 
  14. ↑ Gstalter, Morgan (2018-02-01). "Billboard from ‘God’ tells Michele Bachmann not to run for Senate" (in en). https://thehill.com/blogs/in-the-know/in-the-know/371911-billboard-from-god-tells-michele-bachmann-not-to-run-for. 
  15. ↑ "Tweets of the Week: Our racist president, Kamala’s plan, and werewolves - The Boston Globe" (in en-US). https://www.bostonglobe.com/ideas/2019/08/02/tweets-week-our-racist-president-kamala-plan-and-werewolves/esE8beNDIPTQY3giEgqhbM/story.html. 
  16. ↑ Humanist, Progressive Secular (2019-08-21). "Trump Declares ‘I Am The Chosen One,’ Claims To Be ‘Second Coming Of God’" (in en). https://www.patheos.com/blogs/progressivesecularhumanist/2019/08/trump-declares-i-am-the-chosen-one-claims-to-be-second-coming-of-god/. 
  17. ↑ "God Trolls Trump So Friggin' Hard It's On CNN" (in en-US). 2019-03-14. https://wokesloth.com/god-trolls-trump-so-friggin-hard-its-on-cnn/masha/. 
  18. ↑ "Greta Thunberg Masterfully Trolled Donald Trump In Response to His Tweet Mocking Her U.N. Speech" (in en). 2019-09-24. https://secondnexus.com/news/trump-twitter-happy-young-girl-thunberg. 
  19. ↑ Silverman, Matt. "God Just Trolled the Westboro Baptist Church So Hard" (in en). https://mashable.com/2014/09/08/god-loves-gays/. 
  20. ↑ Nutile, Alaina. "God Loves Gays billboard now up in Dearborn Heights" (in en). https://www.metrotimes.com/the-scene/archives/2015/06/24/god-loves-gays-billboard-now-up-in-dearborn-heights. 
  21. ↑ "The God Show" (in en). https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4OjPndAMD8SvX01Kvlhnrg. 
  22. ↑ FM, Player. "The God Show Animated podcast" (in en). https://player.fm/series/the-god-show-animated-podcast-2498040. 
  23. ↑ "What Would Jesus Post? God Friended Me and How Social Media Handles Deities" (in en). Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. https://www.wired.com/story/god-friended-me-social-media-deities/. 

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